The Wright Brothers

The Wright Brothers

David McCullough is back! His special brand of historical biography and graceful style turns this time to Wilbur and Orville Wright and their quest for powered flight. It doesn’t have the weight (literally and figuratively) of his books on Adams, Roosevelt and Truman, but it is story well told. It opens with their early years in the family home in Dayton, Ohio. It follows their years as bicycle makers and into Wilbur’s momentous letter to the Smithsonian inquiring into its archive of any material regarding human flight. He is careful to emphasize that he “is not a crank” and ultimately enlists the cooperation of the institution. More of the best in popular history!